Emergency Management

WASHINGTON — All passengers and crew aboard an American Eagle flight bound for Reagan International Airport are feared dead after it collided with a military helicopter and both aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River Wednesday night, officials said. The three-man... Read More

WASHINGTON — In the first domestic trip since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump on Friday is visiting parts of North Carolina and Los Angeles, California, which have been ravaged by very different natural disasters in recent... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters prepared for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames. The relative... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has cancelled his planned trip to Rome to remain focused on directing the federal response to the catastrophic wildfires that have engulfed Los Angeles in recent days. Biden happened to be on the West Coast... Read More

DALLAS (AP) — Another blast of winter storms in the U.S. on Thursday closed schools, snarled flights and put millions of residents across the South under warnings of snow and freezing rain that could cause dangerous travel conditions. Texas schools canceled classes... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force Wednesday after setting off a desperate escape from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke. The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday... Read More

WASHINGTON — Pleas for emergency supplemental funding found a receptive audience Wednesday in the U.S. Senate after a year of cascading natural and man-made disasters. Wildfires in New Mexico, drought in the Midwest, a bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland —... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden postponed a long-awaited trip to Germany and sub-Saharan Africa on Tuesday, saying he needs to be in the country with a potentially catastrophic hurricane expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday. “I just don’t... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has directed the Defense Department to send up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to distribute food, water and other emergency supplies to the communities that were ravaged by Hurricane Helene. The soldiers, members of an Infantry... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden suggested Monday he might ask Congress to return from its pre-election recess to approve emergency disaster funding as the death toll and damage estimates from Hurricane Helene continue to rise. Members of Congress left Washington... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa — A tornado outbreak across much of the Midwest earlier this week brought utter devastation to the city of Greenfield, Iowa, and wreaked havoc on nearby wind farms located in Adair County. Until Tuesday’s tornado, Greenfield’s claim... Read More

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remembers Monday, March 25, as being like any other night. The last thing he did before going to sleep that night was put his cellphones on a dresser across from his bed, “so I’m... Read More

HONOLULU (AP) — When wildfires broke out across Maui last August, some firefighters carried victims piggyback over downed power lines to safety and sheltered survivors inside their engines. Another drove a moped into a burning neighborhood again and again, whisking people away from danger... Read More

LEBANON, N.J. — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook New York City and much of New Jersey on Friday, with anecdotal reports suggesting the shaking was felt as far away as Boston, Philadelphia and Stamford, Connecticut. The quake, which occurred at... Read More

BALTIMORE (AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers searched for survivors. It was also... Read More

WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has not, according to emergency response officials at a Senate hearing Thursday. At least not fast enough to prevent disasters like... Read More

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — A decade after they were first envisioned in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy ’s destruction, two of the largest flood control projects designed to protect the densely populated cities of New Jersey that lie just outside New York... Read More

PASADENA, Calif. — As demand for more detailed assessment of climate risks grows, a team of scientists from around the globe argue for utilizing artificial intelligence to greatly improve the climate simulations that form the basis of hazard mitigation plans.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency and Wireless Emergency Alert systems on Wednesday afternoon. The agencies said the test will begin at about 2:20... Read More

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Gina Thorn's life was uprooted when a monstrous tornado tore through her Kentucky hometown of Mayfield, but her family stuck it out and now they're homeowners for the first time. Thorn says Gov. Andy Beshear deserves... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Office of Personnel Management has ordered all federal employees to leave their offices by 3 p.m. ahead of possibly severe storms expected to move through the District of Columbia and surrounding area Monday afternoon and evening. According... Read More

MIAMI — The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts this coming Thursday, with forecasters from the Climate Prediction Center expecting a “near-normal” season with 12-17 named storms likely, of which as many as four could be major, catastrophic storms. But the... Read More

WASHINGTON — With the start of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season just weeks away, a new report from the Government Accountability Office suggests the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues to suffer from chronic staff shortages that are leading to burnout... Read More

WASHINGTON — Firefighters from across the nation gathered for a rally at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday to urge Congress to fund the research and development of PFAS-free protective gear and fire extinguishing equipment. “We need to get these toxic carcinogens... Read More

WASHINGTON — Devastating hurricanes, deadly flooding and prolonged record-setting drought in much of the U.S. were just a few of the 18 natural disasters that cost taxpayers roughly $165 billion last year, according to a new federal report. The sobering... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Planning for Animal Wellness Act into law this week, garnering praise from animal rights advocates who’ve argued for years that federal guidance on best practices to protect animals in emergencies and disasters... Read More

TALLAHASSEE — Hurricane Ian’s march through Florida and the Caribbean left at least 35 people dead in the Sunshine State, along with another three in Cuba, and caused anywhere from $66 billion to $75 billion in damage, depending on the... Read More

WASHINGTON — As Hurricane Ian raged through Florida Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to make the emergency alerts seen and heard on television, radio and through text messages easier to understand. “Climate change is making storms more frequent,... Read More

NEW YORK — As a major hurricane bears down on Florida, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is floating a $52 billion proposal to protect New York City and surrounding communities from the destructive storm surges associated with hurricanes and... Read More